In a night filled with community support for a cause and a key NECC conference contest, the 1A #5 Fremont Eagles (6-1, 1-1 NECC) went into Central Noble (3-2, 1-1 NECC) and took down the Cougars 47-32.
Before the varsity game, it was an opportunity for fans to give any ounce of donation to give a cause for breast cancer awareness and cancer research. Central Noble Head Coach Sam Malcolm said the Coaches-vs-Cancer Awareness Night started four years ago against the same Fremont program, and this event is conducted by both schools each year when they face each other.
Both programs send their proceeds to the American Cancer Society. In past instances, bake sales, donations, and selling merchandise were used to receive donations. This year, Central Noble sold t-shirts with the slogan, “Together, we fight” and taking donations. Before the game, fans had the opportunity to preorder t-shirts leading up to the game, leading to great opportunities to connect with both communities and providing strong local reach to promote the awareness for a great cause.
“Cancer has touched almost everyone,” said Malcolm. “If you really think about it, most people know someone who’s related to someone that has dealt with cancer, who has survived cancer, battle cancer in one, or even lost their life to cancer. I think every one of us has.
So, anything we can do to help raise money, raise awareness to that terrible disease and all the different categories or the different kinds, we want to try and do that. Cancer touches all of us in one way or another.”
Fans that ordered the t-shirts wore them for tonight’s game, and both programs wore them during warm-ups. Malcolm said in the past donations have ranged between 200 and 400 dollars for that night. During the intermission of the varsity contest, fans and students took part in the three-point shooting contest, which added additional proceeds towards the American Cancer Society.
As far as the game goes, it was a rivalry where CN had won 11 of the previous 12 meetings. This game saw a battle of contrasting styles: the fast, aggressive speed of Fremont against the bigger Central Noble squad. Early on, CN took advantage of seven unforced first-half turnovers from Fremont using a patient, methodical half-court offense and some good perimeter shooting. Jaylee Slone’s layup late in the first gave the Cougars a 8-5 lead through the first eight minutes.
The second quarter would be the “Chloe Verdin Show” as she scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half, and three triples to tie the game at 19 going into intermission. Head Coach Shae Thomas said Chloe’s performance early on was critical in Fremont’s comeback win.
“Her (Chloe Verdin) confidence is growing and I love to see it, so I’m proud of her.” said Thomas on Verdin’s first half performance.
The start of the third quarter saw both teams exchanging buckets, first with a Grace Scharlach fastbreak bucket, followed by a Jaylee Slone layup. Bales’ third triple of the game made it 24-21 Cougars just over two minutes into the quarter. Bales finished the game with a co-team best 15 points and five triples.
An errant in-bounds throw nearly led to a Central Noble turnover, but they would milk nearly a full minute of game clock by cycling the ball around the Fremont zone to set up Slone’s three-point play-where she would go on to finish with 15 points of her own.
That basket-and-one gave Central Noble a 27-26 with 4:15 left in the third quarter. However, something changed afterwards, after Grace Scharlach’s three from the wing gave Fremont a 29-27 lead just 13 seconds later. That shot jumpstarted a 21-5 run to help Fremont snap their losing streak at Central Noble. Fremont used an aggressive trapping defense to force two wild Central Noble turnovers.
Scharlach then scored the next four points thanks to a pair of free throws and a tough fastbreak layup following a Mallorie Hufnagle block. Fremont ended the quarter with a steal and score from Mya Turner to take an eight-point lead.
Coach Thomas said Fremont’s success came from playing more fundamentally sound basketball in the second half as they only turned it over twice after halftime to help the Fremont offense shoot 59% from the floor on the game.
“I think we had seven unforced turnovers in the first half just (with) the traveling, and passing,” said Thomas. “I think we took care of the ball out of the second half, and we also took care of their cuts better (in) the second half, especially with their inside. They’re taller, so we had to do the little things.”
The second half saw a collective team effort from the Fremont Eagles led by their talented junior class. Grace Scharlach scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to propel Fremont’s comeback win, while Mya Turner used her length, toughness, and getting to the charity stripe to record 10 points. Defensively, Fremont held Central Noble to just 38% shooting from two-point land as the Cougars committed 10 of their 13 turnovers in the second half.
Coach Shae Thomas made it very clear that Fremont won this game as a team, giving Fremont the sense of confidence knowing that they are capable of having a season for the ages.
“When we play like a team, this is what we should be playing like every night when we we show up. When they play as a team, they can be very unstoppable.”
The last time Fremont had won at Central Noble, Shae Thomas was a sophomore superstar for the Fremont girls’ basketball team that beat CN in the regular season and sectionals in the 2013-14 season. Thomas went on to become the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Thomas said it is a tough environment where the stands are always full, and the Central Noble fans are having fun. They knew that they had to earn this win. A win like this is huge for Fremont as they stay alive in the NECC race with Eastside, Fairfield, and Angola. Now, Fremont’s focus is to build on this win to carry them to the remainder of the season beginning with Tuesday’s home game against Wayne.
“We need to take this, build that confidence, and understand that defense is going to win ball games down the stretch, especially against teams that are bigger than us.” said Thomas.
